Final Pokemon Fantasy IX
by TheMagicalKuja
Summary: The return of an EVIL Kuja and the merging of two worlds causes a young boy to search for his past and a now married Zidane to gather freinds old and new to end more threats to the world of Gaia. a FF9/Pokemon crossover. THIS STORY HAS BEEN CANNED!!!! Unl
1. Prolouge

Final Pokémon Fantasy IX  
  
Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN Squaresoft, Game Freak, or Nintendo. However, I do own Rob, Taz, Keeli, and um... that's about it for now. Ask nicely before you use my characters, OR ELSE. But if you DO ask nicely, I'll trust that you WILL give me original credit. Right? RIGHT??!! HELLOO!!!!!! Um, okay. Enough coffee. Let's get on with this.  
  
Oh yeah, and I might add that I screwed up the ending to FF9 a bit, so you won't have to deal with spoilers, too many of them anyway, LUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHA!!!  
  
Prologue  
Zidane looked at the Alexandria Castle, mixed feelings swarming all over him like killer bees. So much had happened after he and his friends brought down Necron and Kuja. His memories swallowed him up like a gigantic fish, allowing him to see the past. Upon returning to the village, Vivi fell weak and ill. Remembering with sadness and for some reason joy on that occasion, Zidane remembered as Vivi said his last words to him.  
  
"Zidane... I will... Always keep... you in my memory..." he had said. "Tell the others... I'll see them someday..."  
  
"Vivi, why'd you have to leave now?" Dagger whined, tears in her eyes.  
  
"I have... no control... over fate... But there is a chance... for black mages... to join humans..." he had taken a shiny black jewel from his chest and handed it over to Zidane. "Here... Take this to Hades... Make me my first... daughter..." Zidane looked in utter confusion at the black jewel. Vivi continued. "She will have a soul... like me... she will be the last synthesized black mage... she can make black mages... be born..." Vivi chuckles weakly as he said his final words. "Name her... after me..." at that Vivi stopped. He had passed away.  
  
After shedding enough tears to flood a desert, our heroes held a funeral for Vivi. Each hero had paid his respects to Vivi; even Amarant had given flowers, though he cursed himself for not being able to do anything. After the funeral, Eiko looked at the jewel Zidane was holding. "What's that?" she asked. Zidane grinned as he remembered that no matter how dire the scene is, Eiko always had a super thick curiosity.  
  
"Vivi gave me this... he said to 'Take this to Hades and make me my first daughter.' I can only imagine if he was right..." Zidane trailed off.  
  
"Couldn't help to ask Hades, couldn't it?" Eiko piped.  
  
"Yes, it could..." Amarant said through clenched teeth. "I don't think your memory's good. We had to kick his butt first, and you don't even remember how hard THAT was. And that could have been the ramblings of a dying boy. However," Amarant stood straight, looming over the other two. "About now, I'd do practically anything for the sake of the memory of Vivi."  
  
Zidane examined the crystal. "Maybe... We'll just have to see. Vivi could have known a lot more than we thought," Zidane's mind swam deeper into the past in which Vivi had stayed behind and asked Hades a question. That definitely explained why he referred to him.  
  
Things looked strangely uphill from there. The three of them and Quina traveled to the Iifa Tree where Hades now rested. After another long fight, Hades finally settled down, took one look at the crystal and showed just a touch of marvel. "So this is what Vivi was talking about..." he said, holding the black gem. "Heh, he wanted black mages to be born like humans. Who would want to be born like pathetic mortals anyway? It'd only extend their lives for 99 years. Pathetic if you ask me. But if it is/was his wish, so be it. Come back in two weeks. Good riddance," he said with a barely noticeable grin by way of leave-taking. Zidane and company grinned at each other as they were kicked out of his lair.  
  
Zidane was snapped back forth into the present when he heard Quina. "Zidane!" the Qu cried. "Come! She awake!"  
****  
  
Hmph. Zidane... you have gained all the power Garland said you would... but you chose to save the planet rather than destroy it... And you destroyed me...  
  
Garland was right when he said I would die soon after I went into Trance. However, it would be from you... not from wearing out.   
  
Now, thanks to Necron sacrificing the last of his energy, I, Kuja, can claim revenge... Settle the score with you... Zidane... Heh, to prove my point I won't even kill anyone else except your friends... I will avenge and claim revenge...   
  
  
Just you wait...   
****  
  
It quite sucks not knowing the first six years of your life, but does this truly matter to me? Not so, because I know I will find it someday. The full name's Robert Seirdane Benton, and don't even ask about the middle name (I actually like it). You can call me Rob for short.  
  
My best friends Ash and Phillip (nicknamed Taz) have always jokingly suspected that I'm not even of this planet, because when they found me I was dressed weird and was holding a dagger-with expertise I might add-something six-year olds don't normally do. Heh, I can only wander if they were right...  
  
After 8 years, my friend Taz and I grew to be Pokémon masters, thanks to Boot-Camp-like training from Ash. However, I pursued sword handling on my own time to better train myself, wanting to be just as fit as my own pokémon.   
Now, the three of us are taking a vacation to chill out after defeating Team Rocket for a third time. Heh, we weren't even aware of the big adventure we were about to face...  



	2. Episode 1: Return of a Villain

Final Pokémon Fantasy IX  
Episode 1:  
Return of a Villain  
  
Now, the four of them looked at the young Vivi Jr. outside of the Alexandria Castle, who had just awakened to the new world and was staring right back at them quizzically. "Who're you?" said the young female black mage. "Why are you lookin' at me like that?"  
  
"Consider us your babysitters," Amarant said coolly.  
  
"Or your guardians," Eiko said.  
  
"You too small for food," Quina said, getting a little too close for her comfort.  
  
"QUINA," Zidane growled.  
  
"Oh, sorry," Quina backed away. "Me no eat you."  
  
"Are you Zidane?" she looked at Zidane with double the curiosity Eiko could ever muster.  
  
"Yeah, but how did you know my name?" Zidane was now flummoxed.  
  
"Pops lives in my soul, and he tells me everything. He says to not forget you're 'married' to a 'Dagger', or whatever that means."  
  
"YOU MARRIED HER?!???!!" Eiko tackled Zidane with the force of a Trance Behemoth. "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME???!!!"  
  
"I-I-I didn't know!!" Zidane panicked, a sweat drop forming on his face. "I forgot!" With a grimace he had suddenly remembered their forced marriage in Conde Pete. "Why-did she-have to-remember that?"  
  
Eiko went off, roaring like a T-rex. "Hey wait! It wasn't official!" Zidane cried after the outraged Eiko. "Was it...?"  
  
"I guess it was. Lucky you," Amarant sarcastically crowed.  
  
"Is marriage bad?" Vivi Jr. asked.  
  
"Uh... it's bad for the guy who didn't marry, that's for sure," Zidane groped for an explanation. But he couldn't find one, leaving young Vivi Jr. even more confused than she was when Eiko left. "NOW what am I going to do?"  
  
****  
  
"Your Majesty! Do you have ANY idea what this means?" Steiner roared to Dagger, surprisingly happy, waving the certificate he snatched from Dagger when Eiko angrily announced her marriage.   
  
"What?" Dagger had a sweat drop on her head.  
  
"WE HAVE A KING!!!" Steiner danced a jig all over the place. "I didn't know you were married!! So, who are you married to?" Dagger fell over.  
  
"Did you not hear Eiko screaming about it?" Dagger put on her royal tone, still having that sweat drop.  
  
"No..."  
  
"Did you look at the certificate?"  
  
"No..." Steiner looked at it. "It says you are married to... Zidane."  
****  
  
Outside, Zidane, Quina, and Amarant could hear a very intensified scream. "NNNOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!"  
  
"Up, it looks like Steiner found your secret," Amarant smirked at Zidane. "Better go put out the fire."  
  
"You three are coming with me..." Zidane hissed, dragging all three by the arms with one firm iron grip.  
  
"I don't wanna marry..." Vivi Jr. whined.  
  
"Where Freya?" Quina asked.   
  
"She's back building in Burmecia with her lover boy. Too bad she missed the flames," Amarant crowed.  
  
Inside, Zidane and company came face o face with Steiner. "YOU MARRIED THE QUEEN???!!!!" he raged.  
  
"Uhh... I had to." Zidane said quickly.  
  
"Hey, wait!" Vivi Jr. cried. "If she's the queen and Zidane married her, that would make him king, wouldn't it?"  
  
"That's my point," Steiner hissed.  
  
"I'm king...?" Zidane looked at himself. "Incredible... I'M KING!! WHOO HOO HOOO!!!" he bounced around the castle with enough energy to throw the planet off balance. Zidane landed right in front of Steiner. "That means YOU'RE MY PERSONAL SLAVE!!! LUA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!"  
  
"I think I'm gonna die," Steiner fell over.  
  
"Zidane, please don't," Dagger cooed. "I like him as my bodyguard."  
  
"Okay," Zidane kicked the ground. "But if he tries anything, he'll be giving me backrubs for a LONG time!"  
  
  
"Sucks for you," Amarant crowed.  
  
"Lay off of Steiner, will ya? Only I'M supposed to insult him," Zidane said. "Now, I have kingly business to do!" he went off with the certificate to announce that he was king.  
  
"Your Majesty!" Beatrix flew into the room and swept a quick bow to Dagger. "I heard you married. Does that mean we have a king?"  
  
"Yeah," Dagger's sweat drop had doubled in size. "Go meet him outside, he's crowing about it to the kingdom." Beatrix went in Zidane's direction. "I can only wander what will happen now..." Dagger continued, completely oblivious to a jolly Madeen and a very outraged Eiko behind her.  
****  
  
Kuja looked at the castle, eyeing the splendor. It had been rebuilt quite fast, but he probably couldn't guess why. "Too bad I'll have to destroy you again, my beauty," he whispered. Just then, a chariot with a cage full of nasty monsters backed up next to him. "Hmm? Ah, HERE they are." Pacing to the cage, he whispered inside, "Now, my pretties, go and wreak havoc, but kill no one except Zidane's friends. Bring me Zidane and Queen Garnet here ALIVE. Got it?"  
  
A chorus of roars was the sound of agreement.  
  
"Good," Kuja walked to the driver. "Hey, back up a little bit, will you?" The driver nodded. "I'll tell you when to stop." The driver inched towards the castle. "Back-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-BACK, STOP!" Kuja motioned. The chariot stopped.  
  
Kuja opened the cage. "Uh-oh!" he said in a mock panicked macho voice. Ten Behemoths roared as they invaded the castle.  
****  
  
"Hmm? DAGGER!! What happened?!" Zidane re-entered the castle, only to find Dagger hogtied and her rear very sore.  
  
"Eiko and Madeen gave me a 'butt-spanky'. WAHHHH...." Dagger sobbed.  
  
Zidane fumed as he untied his romance. "Ergh. That child has taken it too far..."  
  
"ATTACK!!!" Steiner rushed in, a gash of blood on his face. "King Zidane, escort the queen to a safe place, I beg of you! We're under attack by Behemoths!"  
  
"Holy crap! WHAT??!! Don't fret about us, just make sure everyone else is safe, fight them off if you can, and when this is over, give Eiko a butt-beating!"   
  
Steiner looked at Zidane in confusion for a moment before shrugging and turning around to slice a Behemoth in half that tried to surprise attack them. He then dashed away. "Dagger, I can't stand to see our friends get pummeled. Do you suggest we help or run?"  
  
"The first one!" Dagger cried, pulling out one of Zidane's daggers.  
  
"Heh, you just my kind of lady," Zidane grinned, pulling out his Ultima weapon from a corner. "C'mon, let's go!" the two lovebirds leapt into war.  
****  
  
"WHAT'S THAT??!" Vivi Jr. cried, pointing at one of the Behemoths.  
  
"Big ugly monster," Quina said. "We eat it before it eat us!" Quina ripped an Earth Shake on it, but it only seemed to lose its balance.  
  
"Heh, let ME try magic!" Vivi Jr. focused herself before she cast magic. At first nothing happened, but eventually the Behemoth lost control of itself. Vivi Jr. lifted her hand and up went the Behemoth.  
  
"You have psychic power!" Quina cried.   
  
"WHEEE!!" Vivi Jr. began swirling the creature in the air, completely enjoying herself. Quina was watching in awe as well.  
  
Quina suddenly had an idea. "Make it do disco!"  
  
"Umm, how do I do the disco?"   
  
"Your pops knows. Ask him."  
  
After a moment, she cried. "Alright! Here I go!" Just when the Behemoth gained control of itself again and was about to attack them, Vivi Jr. captured it in her psychic grasp again and this time started to do the disco, the monster and Quina following along.  
  
"Hmm?" Zidane looked outside. To his utter confusion, a Behemoth was doing the disco. But so were Vivi Jr. and Quina. "That's WRONG. That's just plain WRONG."  
  
"Tell me about it," Dagger said, a sweat drop forming on her head. But unfortunately a Behemoth pounced on the balcony they were on, causing them to fall.  
  
"AY CRAP!! DAGGER!!" Zidane screamed. Clutching on to her hand, Zidane used his other hand to control Ultima weapon right into the Behemoth's face. This only made it angry. VERY ANGRY. To make things worse, it fell into Trance.  
  
"Creatures can Trance?" Zidane asked incredulously.  
  
The Behemoth laughed, or what Zidane thought as a laugh as it used a slash. And all went black.  
****  
  
"Queen! NOOOO!!!" Steiner said as the Behemoth crushed the balcony. In a rage, he fell into Trance and sliced the Behemoth that was attacking him in half. With a quick motion, he sliced yet another Behemoth attacking Beatrix. "Beatrix, we must aid the queen!" He yelled in desperation.  
  
"I suspect foul play, Steiner, we had better hurry," Beatrix said. "I've noticed that they don't even pay attention to anyone else except..."  
  
"Those who defeated Kuja!" Steiner exclaimed. "It is he!"  
  
"Holy crap! You're right!" Beatrix performed a Climhazard to a Behemoth that tried to attack them. "We've got to warn the others!" But it was too late, as the same Behemoth fell under Trance and dealt them a crippling blow.  
****  
  
Eiko and Madeen were fighting off yet another Behemoth. Madeen pumped up a holy ray and Eiko, using her racket like a sword, sliced the Behemoth with incredible power. It seemed to be dead, but the young summoner noticed something else. Three Behemoths were doing various things, much to her shock. One had overcome Vivi Jr., Quina, and even Amarant when he came to their aid, happily pouncing on them. Another was trying to subdue Steiner and Beatrix, and was close to succeeding. And the worst was one in Trance, dragging Zidane and Dagger away. She looked at Dagger with extreme guilt, having double-teamed her earlier.  
  
Eiko fell over crying in shame. "W-what have I done?" the Behemoth in their room staggered trying to stand up. "I-I shouldn't have tried to b-b-break them apart." The Behemoth got ready to attack. "D-Do I deserve this f-fate?" she winced as the Behemoth was ready to slash her in two.   
  
"No..." the voice of Madeen was all she heard before she saw a bright flash and Holy consumed the whole castle. Then all went black...(get the picture?)  
****  
  
Zidane awoke in the middle of the field. Utterly confused, he started looking around. He saw that no one was in the field, not the Behemoths, not a creature, not even his friends, except-  
  
"Dagger!" he cried weakly. He saw her lying on the opposite side of the field. He hobbled his way toward her. But out of nowhere, another figure stood in his way. That figure was-  
  
"Kuja!" Zidane hissed.  
  
"Yes, my little brother," Kuja said, smiling evilly. "I returned to settle the score with you. Heh, the winner of this battle not only emerges alive-" he turned to Dagger's direction. "-but gets the bride."  
  
"You little...!" Zidane draws out Ultima weapon and already begins to attack. But Kuja is too fast. Our silver-haired villain jumps out the way shoots Demi at Zidane, but remembering a few tricks Steiner taught him, Zidane sliced the spell in mid-leap and slashed Kuja with it, causing Demi to double in power on Kuja.  
  
"Not bad," Kuja said, still having an evil grin on his face. "But still not good enough," Kuja slammed Zidane with a psychokinetic attack. He began levitating. "Now is the time to feel my wrath!" Kuja zapped Zidane with psychokinetic thunder, levitating him in great pain. "At last, I shall have settled the grudge." But something stopped him. Letting Zidane fall to the ground, Kuja watched in shock and awe as the sky grew dark gray and massive thunderbolts began to dance about, splitting apart and making the planet grow. Kuja continued to stare as the same thunderbolts gave rise to new land.  
  
"This is not my power..." Kuja actually felt fear. Not since Garland had told him he would die had he felt fear. This was NOT good.  
  
He had to do something about it.  
  
  
Heh, I bet you can't guess what commercial I based the Kuja releasing the Behemoths scene comes from. HA! No money bonus if you win. No money loss if you lose. Just your dignity.(j/K) 


	3. Episode 2: Dawn of the Heroes

Final Pokémon Fantasy IX  
Episode 2:  
Dawn of the Heroes  
  
"Ha!" the young dark-skinned youth crowed. "Not enough power to put out Fenrir, I see."  
  
"You just wait! Scizor's best known for its comebacks!" a blondish-red-haired youth shot back. "Scizor! Make him eat Metalange!"  
  
The Scizor hopped towards Fenrir twice before ripping loose with a powerful slash. Fenrir was blown back, but it still wasn't defeated. Fenrir launched a Shadow Ball attack, smacking Scizor and causing it to fall defeated. "Comeback? What comeback?" the dark-skin said, flaring himself up as if he were king of a basketball court.  
  
"Stuff it, Rob!" The blonde-redhead snapped.   
  
"Stop having a cow Taz, this is the FIRST time I've beaten Scizor! Therefore the FIRST time I've truly beaten you!" Rob shouted coolly.  
  
"Whoopdy-friggin'-do! You disrupted my winning streak!" Shouted Taz.  
  
"Lay off, you two!" Ash shouted, though laid back. Ash was wearing nothing but swim trunks, sunglasses, and his trademark hat. He was sipping lemonade and tanning with his loyal pet Pikachu. "I'd rather not you two disrupt my vacation!"  
  
"Heh, so your Umbreon has grown a heck of a lot since we first met." Taz shook hands with his best friend and rival. "I'm proud. Ash and I taught you well."  
  
"Thanks. I owe you guys one," Rob turned away. He looked to the sky. "Taz. You know what?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Perhaps now, that I have enough experience... I want to search for my past. The chances of it coming to me are too d*** slim. And I want you and Ash to help me."  
  
Taz thought for a moment. "No problem, dude. I'm with you, all the way."  
  
"Hey! You want my all-too-powerful help again, loser?!" Ash joked, standing up.  
  
"Pika!" Pikachu jumped up with him.  
  
"Yeah, I want your help!" Rob snapped. "Seriously, I think I'm old enough now to take whatever blows the past has got for me."  
  
"Count me in!" Ash rooted. "I too think you need some past. But one thing:"  
  
"What?"   
  
"Can we stay on vacation for just a week? PLEASE??"  
  
"Make it two! Notice that I never said we had to go searching now..."  
"Speaking of searching..." Taz looked to our heroes' right. "I just found us a babe to hit on!" The three heroes saw a blonde-white girl in a bikini, wearing front-side-only sunglasses, tanning and reading a book.  
  
"I'm not a skirt-chaser," Rob said, trying to snuff the other two with an I'm-too-proper-for-you look. "And besides, if I'm not mistaken," Rob said, peering out to the girl closer, then as if his suspicions were right, pulled out his sword and got into a fighting stance, "I believe that's... Keeli."  
  
"Keeli?!" Ash said. He too, began to go into a fighter's stance. Pikachu arched its back and started to pump itself up. Taz followed suit-albeit reluctantly. Keeli was the three boys' biggest rival, hosting psychic ability to control water and having insanely powerful water pokémon; even her Gyarados could hold its own versus Ash's Pikachu. Every time they so managed to beat her, she'd sent them running for their lives with a powerful tsunami attack. They weren't about to let her mess them up this time.  
  
"Keeli!" Rob snapped.   
  
She simply lowered her specs. "Why Rob, how nice of you to meet me here! And your friends are here too!"  
  
"Hmph," Ash said. "Not a change over the summer..."  
  
"I'd say the same thing about your cute and pathetic Pikachu."  
  
"You take that back!" Ash shouted, becoming more aggressive.  
  
"Unfortunately, I don't feel like proving it. I'll cut to the chase and summon a tsunami on you losers now." Keeli began waving her left hand as if she were conducting an orchestra. In a matter of seconds a HUGE tsunami appeared, overshadowing them all.  
  
"Better start running now boys," Keeli laughed cruelly. "HahaHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"  
  
"NOOO!!!" Rob ran as fast as his legs could carry him, Ash and Taz not far behind.  
  
"Hmph, how pathetic. Can't even handle a little water," Keeli said to herself as the tsunami washed over her, seemingly doing nothing to her or even her book or shades.  
  
"RUN LIKE S***!" Taz bellowed, ripping through the beach and eventually the forest. The wave was nipping their heels and was gaining speed on them.   
  
"Pikachu, don't worry about us!" Ash said. "Use Agility and clear this thing!"  
  
"Pika!" Pikachu refused to abandon his trainer. Instead, it uses Agility but back-flipped behind Ash and charged right through the three, carrying them to safety.  
  
Just barely escaping the waves, our heroes crash down on the small hill that they escaped to. Pikachu pretty much passed out after the whole ordeal, but that didn't mean our heroes weren't grateful. "Pikachu... Once again, I owe you one..."  
  
"Yeah, you were fantastic," muttered Taz.  
  
"Hmph, Keeli has tortured us for THE LAST TIME. I'm going to end it all next time we meet..." Rob hissed, unsheathing his sword.  
  
"Hey, we can't just go up to her and cut her throat. It's just plain wrong, no matter how bratty she is. And secondly, she's too d*** powerful. We wouldn't stand a chance."  
  
"Ash is right. If anything, we need to figure out how to humiliate the brat, not kill her." Taz said, juggling an empty pokéball.  
  
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Rob said. "Quite a useless way to take out your anger. But she still has to lay off..."  
  
"Huh? WHAT THE H*** IS THAT?!" Taz pointed to what looked like a black hole in the sky. Seemingly, as if it was giving out magic powers instead of sucking everything in sight, the clouds grew dark and a thunderstorm raged. "What?"  
  
Then, several lightning bolts started to hit the land around them, and the black hole started to truly represent what they were named for. "AUGH!!" Rob screeched. "It's sucking up the land!"  
  
"We're all gonna die!!!" Taz shouted.  
  
"LAY OFF OF IT, TAZ!!" Ash shouted. The shouting and chaos awakened the sleeping Pikachu, who took one look at the swarming black hole and started his own shouting.  
  
"Pika Pi! Pika!!" It yelled.  
  
"Huh? You're saying you feel another world?" Ash asked his pet, understanding it as if it were English.  
  
"No time for Q&A! We're being sucked up here!" Rob bellowed. A shock of thunder hit the hill and began to absorb it-and them. "AUGH, S***!!!"  
  
All everyone saw was thunder, thunder everywhere as they were zapped and absorbed into the black hole. Then, of course, all went black...  
****  
  
What the h*** have I done? It looks like I chose the wrong place to warp to. Now this entire planet is being warped into it! Talk about a wild ride! This trick always screws up when the other side of the teleport absorbs too much power.  
  
There's no known way to fix this. I'm screwed. Unless I get help from Atomos. That's the only way. I'll have to be fast; I can't afford to let this catastrophe touch my sister!  
  
****  
  
Ah, so that explains it. My power set off so weird chain reaction after some idiot had a bright idea to switch planets. Or someone had summoned Atomos. But who could? Atomos only comes to two people I know, and they're both dead right now, or should be.  
  
I'll have to find out. That, as well as what is this new planet we have merged with. But first I must finish off Zidane and his canary...  
****  
  
"Wh-wh-where are we?" Taz asked, stumbling to get up.  
  
"I have no idea..." Ash said, rubbing his head. "So much for vacation." Ash got his backpack, which he luckily kept by his side through the whole ordeal, and pulled out his usual attire. Hopping off to get dressed, Ash kept slightly away from the group.  
  
Rob scoped the area. The thunder now seemed to be molding land onto the earth, and the clouds were still dark. With a sigh, Rob turned to the group. "Ain't no civilization or humans in sight."  
  
"This sucks!" Taz whined, stomping the ground. Ash came back, but Taz continued. "What do we do now?"  
  
"The only thing we can do now is head forth, dodge the thunder and keep moving."  
  
"Heh, only choice, Taz!" Ash said, giving him a hearty pat on the back.  
  
"Ah, well, can't win everything," Taz said, rolling his eyes.  
  
So the three set out trekking the rough land. A couple of Rhydon attacked the group, but Taz' Scizor took care of them easily. "So, we're still on earth!" Taz whooped. "WHEE-HAW!!"  
  
"That's good news to hear," Rob said.  
  
"But it seems though as if we're on not just Earth, but a whole 'nother planet, merged as one," Ash said.  
  
"Pika!" Pikachu piped in, agreeing with Ash.  
  
"EEEEEIIIIIRRRAAAAAAGGHH!!!" Came the roar of a dragon.  
  
"Huh?" Ash turned around to see a BIG friggin' green dragon with red cheeks, black wings and a reptile-like tongue. "Uh-oh..." a sweat drop appeared on Ash's head. "That's not a pokémon, is it?" The dragon seemed to laugh as it began to summon its magic.  
  
"EEEEEIIIIIRRRAAAAAAGGHH!!!" The dragon ripped a Thunderbolt (Thundaga), in which Ash barely managed to get out of the way.  
  
"WHOLLY S***!!" Rob said, utterly shocked at the dragon that stood before them. Suddenly, he remembered something.  
  
  
"I now crown thee Grand Dragon G.D.!"   
  
  
"Grand Dragon... it's like I've seen this guy before..." Rob said.  
  
"ROB!!" Ash screamed. "Don't just stand there!!! RUN!!!!" Ash once again barely escaped the wrath of the Grand Dragon, "tears" flooding his eyes. Taz too, was running with all his might.  
  
However, now only Rob stood in the way of the Grand Dragon. Just as the dragon was about to hit him with Thunderbolt (Thundaga), it suddenly stopped in mid-cast. It looked at Rob with the greatest curiosity he's ever seen in a monster. The two seemed to be in a staring contest, eyeing each other deeply, as if they could see the other's soul. Suddenly, the Grand Dragon's eyes glittered and in a surprise move, it hugged Rob, or at least tried to.  
  
"OCK!! What kind of attack is THIS?" Rob said, gasping for breath. "G.D?"  
  
The dragon nodded.  
  
"HA! So you are my pet! Cool! I HAVE A NEW DRAGON POKÉMON!!!! LUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!" Rob danced a jig with his old pet. "Hey, I'd hate to be cruel, but I can't have you waltzing around and scaring people, alright? Can you fit in this pokéball?" Rob opened an empty ball, and the dragon disappeared in a great flash of red light. "Good, now I have to catch up to those losers."  
  
"ROB!!!"  
  
"On the other hand, they're braver or more dumb than I thought."  
  
"ROB!!" Ash came dashing back with Pikachu and Taz. "Are you all right? Where'd the dragon go?"  
  
Rob slapped the pokéball that contained his pet G.D. Ash and Taz's jaws filed divorce with them. "Long story. Let's skeedaddle."  
  
Our heroes continued their journey. Weaving past Mareeps gone mad or even a baby Moltres seemed to be the life for them. Eventually they got to a cliff over a high hill. "Ah, I'm tired..." Ash moaned. Pikachu sagged to show his support for Ash, as usual.  
  
"Yeah," Taz sat down, his legs dangling over the sheer hill. He lazed back, wondering if they would ever find humanity. Suddenly, he heard Rob intensify and unsheathe his sword. "Rob? What's wrong?"  
  
"Take a good look down there," Rob pointed to a large clearing of grass below them. Taz peered down the hill; the view began to focus. What he saw made him draw back in revulsion.   
  
"What the h***?" Beads of sweat and nervousness appeared on Taz's neck and face.  
  
"Yeah, that's right. Some silver-haired fruitcake is torturing two innocent people. I won't stand for it. I'm going down there."  
  
Ash stared down there quickly. Rob didn't list that the "silver-haired fruitcake" had some nightmarish electric powers! "You can't do that!" Ash snapped to Rob, grabbing his hand. "That's suicide!"  
  
"It doesn't matter," Rob returned in a grim voice. As if he were quoting someone, he said, "I'd rather die trying than just watching to live." He shook off Ash and slid down the hill to the field.  
  
"Do I have to save your a** AGAIN?!" Ash muttered to himself. He and Pikachu slid down the hill after him.  
  
"Why me?" Taz whined. And he slid down the hill as well, pulling out his secret weapon, hoping it would stand a chance.  
  



	4. Episode 3: Vs. Kuja

Final Pokémon Fantasy IX  
Episode 3: Vs. Kuja  
  
Rob slid down the hill, hopping over flat areas and trying his best to get to the psycho below him. With riveting speed, his feet skated down the hill, almost as if he were on ice. Hopping at the end of the "slide", Rob readied his sword and mustered all of his bravery. But before he could step forward to challenge the evildoer, someone said, "You have too much d*** determination! But I decided that whatever stupid crap you do, I guess I'll just have to clean up your act or follow along, and down here this chump doesn't look so threatening."  
  
"Ash Ketchum," Rob said, not even turning back. "I should have known that you'd follow me, even to the end of the world."  
  
"Yeah, we both would," Taz said. " You have bravery and power we don't, just like we had pokémon expertise and you didn't. We want to learn from you."  
  
"What he said," Ash jerked his thumb to Taz.  
  
"Heh, I see," Rob grinned. "But we have innocent lives to save and a little s*** to kick away. Let's move," Rob readied his sword, Ash his pokéballs and Taz his-  
  
"Bows and arrows??!!" Ash exclaimed. "When did you learn to do that?"  
  
"Grandpa taught me before I met you people. Funny I don't remember much after that... But I'm a master. I've had weapon arrows for a while."  
  
"Ah well. Let's toast this fruitcake!!"   
  
At that, our heroes and Pikachu ran into war, not knowing what they were about to get into.  
****  
  
"Dagger..." Kuja watched in amusement as Zidane tried to reach for his romance. She still laid unconscious after all that had happened, but Zidane didn't care. All he wanted was to cuddle with his "lovey-dovey" before Kuja blasted him to smithereens. Just as he was about to grasp her hand, Kuja blasted him away again.  
  
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! This is just TOO fun!" Kuja crowed. "Still can't touch her, Zidane! Face it, when you're dead, she's mine!"  
  
"Too late... I already touched her, fool...ha!" Zidane laughed weakly.  
  
"DID NOT!!!"   
  
"Did... too..."  
  
"Urgh!" Kuja clenched his teeth. "Playtime's over! DIE!!!" Kuja punted Zidane like a football clear over the field. Still fuming, Kuja was taken aback when he heard:   
  
"Lay off the torture, fruitcake!!"  
  
"Who the..." Kuja turned around to see three youths and a yellow rat charging towards him. "Heh, this is an amusing brigade. What are you fools going to do? Tackle me and hit me with your toy sword? Bring it on."  
  
But he underestimated the mouse's power. It careened past the others and ripped what looked like a Thundara attack on him. To his utter shock (no pun intended) he was actually hurt by its power. The other three stopped right beside it.  
  
"Pikachu had more power than I thought," the dark-skinned boy said. "But no time for amazement." He raised his sword. "Now it is time you pay, chump!" he hissed at Kuja.  
  
"Time to toast some butt," another boy, slightly taller than the dark-skinned one said, pulling out a bow and arrow.  
  
"Who are you? Why do you interrupt my fun?" Kuja said, standing up and making the boys reel back in horror. "Be off, you pathetic kids and mouse, and take your lack of taste with you!" Kuja slammed the earth. Pikachu jumped out the way, but the boys were shaken badly. As for the mouse, Kuja bellowed, "You want lightning?? Here, TAKE THIS!!!" he shot Thundaga at it, blasting it away. However, it rebounded and landed on its feet.  
  
"S***, Ash!" The dark-skin yelled to the tallest of the three with messy black hair. "This one is going to take all we've got!"  
  
"Rob! Use the dragon!" Ash shouted back. "Pikachu! Thunder!"  
  
The mouse powered up one of its electric attacks. Kuja quickly cast reflect on himself for protection, then tried to attack Rob with a flurry of magic. However, Rob dodged the attack.  
  
Pikachu's Thunder, which was more like Thundara, bounced right off of Kuja, but the boy with the bow and arrows placed one well-timed shot that absorbed the thunder and sliced through the air. Kuja dodged the arrow, but a touch of thunder knocked him off balance.  
  
That's all it took for Rob to ready a red and white sphere and throw it at Kuja, smacking him in the face before landing down on the ground. However, that was just the beginning, as upon landing, the sphere opened to release a red mass of energy, and out popped a Grand Dragon, roaring with all its might.  
  
"G.D! Make him eat Thundaga!" Rob shouted.  
  
"Taz, give silver-hair a thunder arrow!" Ash cried.  
  
Taz, the bow and arrow kid, readied another bow. Kuja responded to this by casting Shell on himself and launching yet another earthquake. The G.D's Thundaga was easily dodged, and the little sparks that managed to hit him were bounced off. But the bow was another story. It pierced right through the barrier and hit Kuja hard on. The shock of the arrow blew him off balance and caused major pain. "I'm losing my power... and losing to these brats!" Kuja hissed. "They will pay." Kuja ripped one of his most powerful attacks, Flare Star, on the team of misfits, blowing away even the dragon. Now all that seemed to still be standing was Rob. He was staggering and leaning on his sword. "Now you fools shall FEEL MY POWER!!" Kuja levitated and prepared to blow Rob to smithereens with his holy attack.  
  
"NOOO!!!" Ash cried. But it was too late, as Holy shone from the sky and hit Rob with unbelievable force.  
  
Kuja marveled at his work, but when the smoke cleared, Rob was still standing. Worse than that, he had completely recovered and had a demonic grin on his face. "Holiness makes me all shiny and new again!" he crowed in a doll-like voice. Pikachu and the Grand Dragon charged up their most powerful electric attacks, as if they were preparing for one large attack. "Now, ye shalt Steelix thy wrath!" Rob leapt up into the air, and as the thunder hit his sword, Rob ripped a Thunder Slash on Kuja, causing him to fall.  
  
Eyes twitching, Kuja whispered to himself, "I lost? How come...?"  
  
"You made a BIG mistake messing with those people. Now at last I can kill you..." Rob pulled out his sword.  
  
"You haven't seen the last of me yet!!!" Kuja jumped out of the way with all the energy he could muster before Rob tried to stab him. "My hit list has now expanded to include you brats. I'll be back. You can count on it." At that Kuja disappeared in a thick wisp of smoke.  
  
  
Rob stood, utterly shocked at the events that just happened. He just barely managed to fight off a madman, who nearly destroyed him and his friends, just to rescue two people. Was it worth it? He pondered this as Taz staggered towards him. "We did it. We fought off a sorcerer..."  
  
"But was it worth it?" Rob asked, aloud but almost as if to himself.  
  
"That's something we'll have to find out," Ash answered. He hobbled over, along with Pikachu and G.D, who were also worn out but very proud of themselves. "But at least we know we leveled up big time from that fight."  
  
"We'll first have to see if they're still alive," Rob instructed. He went to the girl, dressed in a strange orange jumpsuit, and checked her pulse. "Yeah, she's still alive." Rob checked her breathing, and all was well there. "She's fine. She just needs to be slapped awake. "  
  
"I'm not sure you want to do that," Ash suggested. "You KNOW what happens when you slap people awake. ESPECIALLY girls."  
  
"Yeah, and what about that guy over there hobbling towards us?" Taz asked. "Nobody offered to check HIS pulse. Now you got him all angry."  
  
"TAZ," Ash growled. "YOU IDIOT. Why would you need to check his pulse?! He's ALIVE AND BREATHING!!!"  
  
"I was being sarcastic, nimrod," Taz backslapped him upside the head. "Ever heard of sarcasm?"  
  
"WHY YOU-" Ash attention changed when the young man spoke.  
  
"Dagger... I won't let him have you..." he hobbled closer, and to our heroes repulsion, the guy revealed to have a tail. Rob, who so happened to be in his way, was pushed gently by the monkey-tail. "Shove off, Kuja..."  
  
"KUJA???!!" Our heroes exclaimed.  
  
"Was Kuja-" Ash began.  
  
"The guy we just fought?" Rob finished.  
  
"Who IS Kuja?" Taz inquired.   
  
"What did he want with-"  
  
"Dagger..." monkey-tail whispered. He cuddled down close to the girl. "Dagger?" he felt her pulse, and relieved, shook her gently. "Dagger?"  
  
The girl awakened. "... Zidane?"  
  
"Dagger!" they hugged, much to our heroes' disgust.  
  
Zidane and Dagger then began to kiss, and this time they were all over each other.  
  
Pikachu looked at the romantic couple in admiration. "Pika..." it seemed to have fallen in love itself.  
  
The boys, however, were sickened. Taz pretended to gag.  
  
"Aw, come on, Taz!" Rob smacked Taz upside the head. "Earlier you were just talking about hitting on-" Rob turned around to the couple and pretended to smell an awful stench.  
  
"AUGH!! My virgin eyes!!" Ash covered his eyes in horror.  
  
"Pika!" Pikachu chanted disapprovingly. With a tail whip, Pikachu swept Ash off his feet.   
  
"Couldn't you people give us some privacy here?!" Zidane complained.  
  
"Sorta impossible here; we have no place to go," Taz countered.  
  
Dagger gently put Zidane to the side and bounced up. "Who are you people anyway?"  
  
"The name's Robert Seirdane Benton, Rob for short." Rob introduced himself.  
  
Each of the other heroes introduced themselves, as well as Zidane and Dagger.  
  
"Whoa! So it WAS worth it! I rescued a king and queen from a cross-dressing fruitcake!! Nobody's gonna believe this!" Rob whooped.  
  
"WE! WE is keyword!!" Ash gave an Arbok's glare to Rob.  
  
"Oops. Sorry."  
  
"Uh... Did that cross-dressing fruitcake have a name of Kuja?" Dagger asked nervously.  
  
"Yeah..."  
  
"Kuja's back?!"   
  
"I'm afraid so..." Zidane hung his head. "Kuja had sworn vengeance when we defeated him and Necron. I too, thought he was dead, but it seems as though somebody plucked him right out of the flow of souls. It seems as though he isn't interested in world destruction anymore. All he wants is us dead..." Then he turned to the three trainers. "I'm very surprised you three beat him."   
  
"We are too!" Taz exclaimed. "We wouldn't have fought him off if it weren't for thick-skull ROB over here," Taz backhanded Rob on the head.  
"Ow," Rob rubbed his head.  
  
"On the other hand," Dagger bowed in respect. "I'm-erhm, WE are very grateful for your rescue. Thank you."  
  
"No problem-" Rob started to say, but Ash interrupted him.  
  
"ONE thing:" Ash announced. He turned to Rob. "Why were you able to recover from that holy attack?"  
  
"Hmmm... Maybe his armor? That sword?" Zidane looked at the sword. "Or maybe he has a 'heart of will', like Vivi did?"   
  
"Who's Vivi?" Ash questioned.  
  
"Vivi-" Zidane looked over the hills to see Eiko, Vivi Jr., Steiner, Beatrix, and Amarant. "Um, you meet 'em."  
  
"ZIDANE!!" Eiko cried. She ran as fast as her little legs could carry her. Upon reaching him, she hugged both Zidane and Dagger and started weeping. "Oh, Zidane!!! I'm so sowwy!! I'm sowwy I was cruel! It was just too much of a shock, and then those Behemoths dragged you away, and St-St-Steiner told me that it was all Kuja's doing, and-and-and I'D THOUGHT I'D NEVER SEE YOU AGAIN!!! WAAHHHH!!!"  
  
"There, there, it's okay now," Zidane patted her. "I believe you've learned your lesson."  
  
"King Zidane!" Steiner and Beatrix bowed humbly. Steiner continued. "We are so glad you two are safe! I'd thought Kuja finished you off!"  
  
"Who the heck are these people?!" Taz howled.   
  
"I may ask you the same thing!" Steiner returned. "What business do you have with the queen and king?"  
  
"Of what army?!"  
  
"TAZ, YOU IDIOT!!" Rob broad sided Taz with his sword. "Were you not paying them any attention when they were introducing themselves?!!"  
  
"I thought they were having delusions of grandeur when Kuja beat the crap out of them!!"  
  
"He's hopeless," Rob smacked himself, and a sweat drop appeared on his head.  
  
"Just kidding. I know they are king and queen of Alex-what's-its-face!"  
  
"Yeah, sure you were," Ash grumbled, a sweat drop forming on his head as well.  
  
"Who's Kuja?" Vivi Jr. asked.  
  
"Evil fruitcake that is unfortunately my brother," Zidane grumbled.  
  
"Not good enough!" Vivi Jr. teased. "Pops says he is the one who created the black mages."  
  
"Ookaaaaaay!!" A sweat drop formed on Ash again.  
  
"One question I wanna know:" Amarant said, silencing everyone. "WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE???!!!!"  
  
Everyone took to introducing him or herself, almost like a stage show. But Ash decided to ask yet another long question: "How'd you guys end up this way?"  
  
So once again, everyone began to explain his or her life story. Vivi Jr. however, since she didn't have much of one, explained her father's instead, and left everyone else (even Amarant) in a mess of tears. After everyone stopped crying, Rob decided to be utterly annoying and pop one last question: "Do you people have a place to stay? I'm pooped."  
  
"Sure! Why don't you people come back to the castle?" Zidane piped. "I'd be more than happy to accompany you three. You did, after all, rescue us." Looking away, Zidane spots someone in the distance. "Huh? Who could that be?"  
  
"Let's not forget! This world is merged!" Taz reminded Zidane.  
  
The figure hobbled through, and when it came into view Taz saw it was a she. She had on some usual clothes, but she was bruised badly, luckily not bleeding. A closer study revealed that she was-  
  
"Keeli!!" Taz snarled. He readied his bow and arrow. The other earth heroes followed suit.  
  
"Is she an enemy?!" Steiner questioned.  
  
"Yes, but she can't harm us now," Rob sheathed his sword. "She's too weak to even heal herself."  
  
"Heh, what a nice reception," Keeli gave a mirthless laugh. "I guess it's what I deserve for torturing you losers."  
  
"You've had your fun!" Ash snapped. But he dropped his mean tone. "But what brings you here? Why are you bruised so badly?"  
  
"Heh, OUR hated enemy is back. They found out that this planet has merged with ours. Unfortunately, this planet has inferior technology compared to them. They'll overtake every important kingdom. You'd better stop them before they gain too much power..." At that, Keeli dropped to the ground. Amarant rushed up to catch her.   
  
"Is she...dead?" Dagger gaped in horror.  
  
"No!" Rob said, checking her pulse. "Unfortunately... All joking aside, she was talking about Team Rocket. The most nefarious gang of organized crime on earth, they are dedicated to using Pokémon for their nefarious crimes. But lately, that's not the only trick they've pulled up with their sleeves. They've found out how to utilize magic somehow, and now they're trying to overtake every place of importance. I had no idea Keeli hated them as much as we did..."  
  
"One question:" Zidane pondered. "What's a Pokémon?"  
  
"Ay, caramba!" Ash, Taz, and Rob fell over. Pikachu waved a white flag.   
  
"This is gonna take a while..." Rob stood up. He had one heck of a job to do, and only a short time to do it. Educating a whole roster of weirdoes from the past about Pokémon is going to take a LOT of work. "Come on. Let's get to your castle, and I'll teach you EVERYTHING..."  
  
  



	5. Episode 4: Education or Elimination

Final Pokémon Fantasy IX  
Episode 4:   
Education or Elimination  
  
"I think I get the hang of this now. Let me try it once more!" Cuddled with Zidane, Dagger picked up a pokéball and let loose. Out came a Seadra, an almost-human-sized seahorse, hissing at its opponent.   
  
Taz, with a playful sneer, said, "You're learning! All right, go, Skarmory!" he threw his pokéball just opposite of the Seadra. A red ball of light flashed and the metal bird appeared. Skarmory flashed its metal wings, forcing Zidane to clench his teeth. Taz just grinned. "Heh, Skarmory! Make it eat Steel Wing!"  
  
Skarmory attacks full on with its wings. Seadra is blown back, and Dagger shouts this: "Counter with ... um... water gun!" Seadra squirts a blast of water, squirting Skarmory away. The metal bird however, began to glow. An utterly flummoxed Taz checked his pokédex.  
  
But instead of the monotone voice of the pokédex and just a picture of Skarmory, Taz's long-time sage Professor Oak popped up. He exclaimed: "TAZ! Where are you? Where have you been? Where's Rob and Ash? What's happened to this planet-wait, um, that's what I've came to explain to you about."  
  
"How the heck did you get into my pokédex?" Taz asked, scratching his head in confusion. Zidane and Dagger were looking on in complete embarrassment, and Skarmory figured out how to Trance and beat the living crap out of Seadra. Dagger, in a mad rage, fell into Trance and beat the living crap out of Skarmory before returning to Zidane's arms. Taz looked at the couple, a sweat drop on his face, remembering that they don't know what a video screen is! "Umm, Professor Oak? Hang on for a minute, will ya?" Taz turned to Zidane.  
  
"What are you talking to?" Zidane asked.  
  
"Um... It's called a video screen. It allows you to talk with people from a long distance. Gotta go; have to find Ash and Rob. You two keep training! And did my Skarmory just... what was it again... Trance?"  
  
"Yeah. Ta-ta." Zidane shooed Taz away with a sweat drop on his head. Taz dashed away.  
  
He found Ash and Rob pigging out on that strange white creature's food. But before he could reach them, he heard a strident yell: "TAZ!!"  
  
"Sorry, Oak. Found Ash and Rob," Taz rubbed his head. Ash and Rob turned their attention to Oak, who by the press of a button on Taz's pokédex became a hologram.  
  
"All right, kids!" Oak announced. "I've found that strange lightning storm was actually a teleport that merged our world with another!"  
  
"Tell us something we DON'T know!" Ash said.  
  
"Pika Pi! Pika Pi PIKA!" Pikachu yelled.  
  
"Okay..." Professor Oak grumbled under his breath. "You people are finding out stuff faster than I do! Now here's the REAL thing: Team Rocket-"  
  
"HEY! We KNOW already... Keeli told us," Rob said with a fake egotistical air in his voice.  
  
Professor Oak became more furious by the second. "Is there ANYTHING you don't know?!!"  
  
"Nope!" Rob crowed. "But there's LOTS of things YOU don't know!"  
  
"Want us to start listing?" Ash added.  
  
"No..." Professor Oak suddenly looked alarmed. "Oh, no! They're here!"  
  
"Professor Oak..." came an ominous voice. "HA!" the voice crowed. It shoved the professor out of the way into the hands of another person. The person who showed up was none other than-  
  
"JAMES!!" Ash shouted, livid in fury.  
  
"That's right, you twerp!" James came on screen with a cartoonish but nevertheless evil grin on his face. "We've got a knowledge powerhouse hostage, and unless you want your dear professor to die a horrid death, I suggest you hand over the Pikachu!"  
  
"You little s***!" Rob shouted. "Prepare to die!"  
  
"Don't get so cocky, sword boy! Some of our friends are on our way there to wreak some havoc! We hear there are new kingdoms to conquer and more babe-ilicious beauties to kidnap! With our new ability to use magic from a source I won't name, we'll subdue you punks easily!"  
  
"I'll toast you, weakling!" snapped Rob.  
  
"NO! Allow me." Ash stood up. "They're small fry, and YOU have to stay here to protect the kingdom! You have better fighting skills than I do! Pikachu! We're outta here!" Ash bounded up the stairs to the main floor and out the castle. Pikachu threw his food away and zoomed, following Ash.  
  
"Toodles!" James shut off the link.   
  
"D***!" Rob swore. "Team Rocket's just HAD to be good at strategy..."  
  
"You still hungry?" Quina asked.  
  
"No," Taz said, "We've got business to do. I fear the queen and king are in danger of invasion..."  
  
"Invasion bad!" Quina crowed. "Must warn Zidane! Come, I get buddy Vivi Jr.! We go to king and queen!" Quina hobbled away, and Taz reluctantly followed. Rob, however, turned in an opposite direction and headed straight for the king.  
****  
  
"I have them in sight," whispered a brunette girl to her elder compatriot.   
  
"Good work, Hannah," she took the binoculars from Hannah and scoped for herself. She saw two people out on the balcony, pretty much kissing each other. The only reason she could tell they were king and queen is because they both wore crowns. "Aw, how romantic!" she sarcastically crowed.   
  
"Be mindful, will you?? You're always so cold-blooded, Cassidy," Hannah snapped in a soft voice.  
  
"Having a dark personality does that to you."  
  
"Oh," she showed her own sarcasm. "Being defensive, are we? Never mind, let's just report and get on with this. I want to raid the loot!"  
  
"HA! Proves that I'm not the ONLY evil person here..."  
  
"Oh, shut up!" The two snuck back, getting ready for one of their finest moments...  
****  
  
Rob tore through the castle, not being able to find the king or queen. Looking through every room, all he saw were guards, a couple of weird people, and-  
  
"Steiner!" Rob screeched to a stop and ran over to the knight in rusty armor. "Have you seen the king or queen?"  
  
"They are out on the balcony, but I cannot let you disturb them. Is it something urgent?"  
  
"YES!" Rob hissed, showing panic but not anger in his voice. "Team Rocket's coming this way! BIG TIME! And most likely they'll be after the two of them!"  
  
"WHAT? We're going to be under attack?! I shall warn the king and queen! You!" Steiner was hopping madly in his armor. "Tell Lady Beatrix to warn her troops!"  
  
"Okay..." Rob decided to take Steiner's advice. This time, he split to the opposite room. Unfortunately, as Rob burst in Beatrix's door, she was dressing.  
  
"Huh?" Beatrix turned around to see Rob in utter shock, staring at her. "You little peeper!" Quickly putting on her armor, she unsheathed her Save the Queen sword. "How about I teach you a lesson in manners!"  
  
"Oh, S***!" Rob turned tail and ran for it, bursting through the doors. He leaped off the balcony and landed with his sword, not even giving himself a scratch. He turned left, bumping into his buddy Taz.  
  
"Hey! What's the rush besides Team Rocket??!" Taz snapped at his buddy.  
  
"JUST RUN, D****T!!!!" Rob grabbed his friend by the collar and leapt of a second balcony without hurting either of them, just as Beatrix slid down the rail of the spiral steps. Both heroes fled through the main castle door. Unfortunately, they had a surprise waiting for them.  
****  
  
Beatrix circled around the balcony on the main hall of the castle. She was going to make that kid pay for trying to look at her unprepared. However, she was in for a dark surprise as she saw the two of them, frozen in revulsion, at a mass of soldiers in black, each having the letter R on their chests. She guessed at such a large number would have easily subdued all of her guards posted outside. With a deep frustration, she realized that the most likely reason they were here was to overtake the castle.  
  
"There's too many of them!" Shouted the strawberry blonde kid.  
  
"I'm running FAR too many times today..." the dark-skinned kid, the annoying peeper complained. They both turned tail and ran. The 'R' soldiers threw some red and white balls, unleashing several monsters she's never seen before. The two kids ran up to her. "I don't care if you hate me or not," the dark-skinned boy panted, growing tired. "But you've got to get the king and queen OUT of here. They'll overtake us all in a matter of seconds..."  
  
"You're right..." Beatrix begrudgingly admitted. "But I still hate you," she smacked him with her sword. "Now let's go!" They headed back up to the queen's balcony.  
  
"HEY! WAIT FOR US!!!" Quina and Vivi Jr. made hot pursuit, trying their best to get away from the men in black.  
****  
  
Ash tore through the back mountains. Though he had no idea where Pallet Town was or, for that matter where he was going, he felt as if some invisible force was guiding him to his hometown. His loyal Pikachu tailed right behind him. Flying through the unknown landscape, Ash finally saw the professor's lab down below in a basin. Sneering, he slid down to his destination.   
****  
  
"What IS this technology?" Kuja looked about him amazed at the giant laboratory that stood before him. Staring at several machines, with members of a crime gang called "Team Rocket" hacking at every one of them. They didn't pay any attention to him, simply because they were engrossed in their own activities. All of them, except for one.   
  
"Who are you?" a blue-haired man, in a gray outfit instead of black, leapt from the stares to in front of Kuja. That reminded him of the Dragoon Knights of Burmecia. "My, you have an interesting taste in fashion."  
  
"Hmph. That doesn't matter. LIKEWISE, who are YOU?" Kuja returned.  
  
"In that case..." The man held up a rose. "Prepare for trouble and make it... single."  
  
"Oh, great, he's going to sing a poem... Too bad it reminds me of myself..."  
  
"To protect the world from devastation!  
  
"To unite all people under our nation!  
  
"To denounce the evil of truth and love!  
  
"To extend my reach to the stars above.  
  
"I am James, member of Team Rocket, blasting off at the speed of light!  
  
"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"  
  
"Meowth! That's right!" A cat with a huge mouth appeared next to James.   
  
"Meowth!" James cried to the cat. "Why did you have to stick with me?"  
  
"Torture is my specialty! I especially loved torturing Ms. Ketchum!"  
  
"You take torture over hot girls?!"  
  
"Who said there were hot girls in Alexandria?!"  
  
Kuja groaned as the two continued to bicker. "I heard the queen is quite a looker!"  
  
"But she's a HUMAN. I'm a MEOWTH. Get my drift??!!"  
  
"Speaking of the queen..." Kuja finally decided to say something. That immediately got their attention and stopped their talking. "I want the queen for myself."  
  
"Wow! You dream big!" James marveled.  
  
"Heh, but I'm not dreaming. I see that you work for an organized army of some sort. If you bring me the queen, I will extend my services to your faction."  
  
"Interesting deal!" Meowth said. "You should talk to our boss! I'm sure he'll work something out!"  
  
"But we're already overtaking Alexandria!" James exclaimed. "And I forgot what Boss said what to do with the king and queen!"  
  
"Oh, are you always this mindless?" a voice came from the back of the main room. A man of high stature made his way down to where James stood. He stood quite tall, though not much taller than James was.  
  
James recognized him. "Boss Giovanni! I am not worthy!" he gave a shameful bow, which Kuja thought was quite ridiculous.  
  
"Of course you're not, but that's beside the point. Who is this guests we have?"  
  
"My name is Kuja," Kuja introduced himself. (So this is the boss of Team Rocket. Not bad,) he thought. "I see that your group has somewhat done me a favor, and I wish to extend my services, provided you do a couple of things for me."  
  
"Interesting," the boss of Team Rocket nodded. "And what is you want from us, and what is it you have to offer?"  
  
"I teach you how to take over this world, and you give me the queen of Alexandria..."  
  
"HEY!!! YOU STOP YOUR PLOTTING RIGHT THERE!!!" shouted an all-too-heroic voice.  
  
"It's the pest!" James cried.  
  
All four turned to see a very furious Ash Ketchum and his Pikachu standing in front of the doorway. Team Rocket looked nervous. "It's that brat... He always messes up my plans..." Giovanni looked defeated.  
  
"Oh? Giving up? Not a worry! Allow me to show you what true power is..." Kuja leapt down in front of Ash, who drew back in shock.  
  
"Kuja?!" Ash shouted. "You're working with these scum?!"  
  
"Right, my monster training friend! JAMES! Come, accompany me as I show the true art of battling. Giovanni, if you work with me, I can take care of our greatest enemies..."  
  
"I am not afraid... Pikachu..." Ash and Pikachu stepped forward, getting ready to do war with a magic tyrant that could very well spell their death...  
  
  
Oh, what a shiny little cliffhanger I left you all in! Read it and weep, chicken-wusses!  
  
That's it for episode 4! Next up!: Episode 5: Model Team Rocketry  
  
Kuja and Team Rocket are now conducting business together! That's bad news for not only Ash but our other heroes as well! And why is Kuja so madly after Dagger? Her abduction will only lead to further chaos... And the unveiling of a new hero.  



	6. Episode 5: Model Team Rocketry

Final Pokémon Fantasy IX  
Episode 5: Model Team Rocketry  
  
"They're overtaking the entire kingdom, the whole lot of them..." Dagger stared in disbelief as she saw the whole legion of soldiers, marching towards the castle. "We've got to do something..."  
  
"But what can we do?" Zidane stared hopelessly. "They may look weak but there's far too many of them..."  
  
"Whatever the cost, I shall protect both of you," Steiner consoled.  
  
"Thanks, Rusty," Zidane gave him a pat on the back. "But for the most part, we should make an escape route..."  
  
"I only have one way," Dagger said. "That is by Eidolon."  
  
"WHAT?!" Zidane exclaimed. "You're going to fry the whole lot of them?!"  
  
"I have no choice..."  
  
"COOL!" Zidane gave Dagger a passionate kiss, and Steiner looked away to give them privacy. "My best bet is that you summon Leviathan, so it doesn't hurt the castle walls."  
  
"Okay..." Dagger then started to pray. "Leviathan... help us... Wash away these intruders..."  
  
A flash of water appeared, and it splashed down in front of the three of them. But instead of Leviathan emerging, a water demon appeared. It's top half was human-like, but its bottom half was more like a sea creatures. Its voice crackled through the air. (I am the Kraken! As Leviathan cannot answer you call, I shall answer your prayers until he returns.)  
  
"The Kraken?!" Zidane asked in surprise. "I thought you were uglier, and we whipped your butt in Memoria!"  
  
A sweat drop appeared on its head. (That was my cousin...)  
"Oh, sorry... Can you get rid of that evil legion that's about to take over the castle?"  
  
(Very well,) with a powerful wave, a giant tsunami emerged from inside the castle, washing away the whole line of troops. The Kraken disappeared in a flash of water.  
  
"We saved the castle!" Dagger and Zidane hugged, and the plucky Steiner was hopping with happiness. But someone was about to crash the party.  
  
"You're not out of the clear yet, you little twerps!" came a snide voice. Two females hopped on to the balcony in which Zidane and his company stood. Zidane resisted the urge to flirt with them, blaming that fact on his teen hormones. Nevertheless, he readied his double daggers, knowing it was going to get ugly.  
  
"Give it up, scumbags!" Zidane thundered. "We sent your army packing!"  
  
"Be off, ye smelly miscreants! Leave this castle be!" Steiner readied his huge Ragnarok sword.  
  
"No can do, little medieval twerps!" said the second female. "We have business to do with the queen! And you forgot about the members that are ALREADY inside, hmm?"   
  
"What is it you want with me?!" Dagger hissed at the duo.  
  
"Come with us and find out!"  
  
"So it's true," said the first. "She is quite the looker."  
  
"Not as good-looking as me!"  
  
"Or me!"  
  
"Shut up!" Steiner snapped. "Y-y-you're just in denial!"  
  
"My wife is FAR better looking than you losers!" Zidane got a smug grin on his face.  
  
"WHAT did you just say?!" raged the first one.  
  
"You heard us," Steiner and Zidane stuck out their tongues. Dagger just giggled and blushed.  
  
"THAT'S IT," hissed the second. "I had enough! Prepare for trouble and make it double!"  
  
"To wreck the world with devastation!" announced the first.  
  
"To unite our peoples from under our nation!"  
  
"To get rid of the evil that is truth and love."  
  
"To extend our reach to the stars above."  
  
"Cassidy!"  
  
"Jesse!"  
  
"Team Rocket! Circling the earth, day and night!"  
  
"Surrender now or prepare to fight! And since you wimps made us mad, we FIGHT!" Jesse's eyes became strained as a flurry of razor leaves attempted to slice our heroes.  
  
"Augh!" Dagger screamed as a razor leaf made a cut on her skin.  
  
"WHAT??! HOW DARE YOU HURT THE QUEEN!" Both Steiner and Zidane raged and blew both of them back with sword attacks.  
  
"What a shame I had to hit a lady!" Steiner mused. "But if they're scoundrels like you, I don't mind!" He rushed Jesse with a Stock Break.  
  
"Hmph, so you're stronger than you look," Cassidy raised an eyebrow, recovering from the strike. "But not strong enough!" Cassidy's eyes rolled back and glowered white, and a dragon rose from the bottom of the balcony. It roared and crashed into Zidane, who staggered backwards. Clutching his chest in pain, Zidane glared at Cassidy and tossed up a coin. That coin turned into a treasure chest, which plopped down and exploded in her face. She fell over, but the blast almost knocked Jesse off the balcony. Steiner attacked with sword blow number 2, further beating Cassidy down.  
  
"Urgh..." Jesse clambered back up. She landed a punch in Steiner's face and sent him reeling to the edge of the balcony. She aimed yet another flurry of razor leaves, cutting off the balcony were Steiner stood.  
  
"Rrauughh-AAUGH!!!" Steiner clutched the edge, hanging on for dear life.  
  
"Steiner! NO!" Dagger rushed and tried to get to him to help him up. But she wasn't fast enough. The balcony chipped where Steiner was holding onto and he fell to his doom...  
  
"STEINER!!!" Dagger cried.  
  
"Hmph! Now it's time you joined him, brat!" Cassidy sneered. Rolling back her eyes, this time two dragon spirits emerged to attack. But before they could blast through her, a figure jumped in front of her and took the blow instead.  
  
"Z-Zidane?" Dagger looked on in disbelief as Zidane fell from the blow. "No... Why did you have to-"  
  
"Get... OUT of here..." Zidane gasped. "Leave... before they kill you..."Zidane fell, no longer able to stand.  
  
Tear struck, Dagger looked on at the Rocket members in anger before running away into the castle. Unfortunately, upon arriving inside, there stood a whole mass of Team Rocket members, but they were occupied with something else. Dagger glimpsed in the crowd to see Rob and Beatrix fighting off several of them, while Quina and some others just shivered in fear. Quina changed faces when he saw Dagger. "There Dagger!" s/he pointed. The Team Rocket members all stopped what they were doing and turned their attention to Dagger.  
  
"It's the queen!" one shouted.  
  
"ATTACK!!!" shouted another.   
  
"You and your big mouth!" Taz smacked Quina in the part where it hurt most.  
  
Shocked with fear, Dagger simply fainted, right before the onrush of soldiers...   
****  
  
"I am not afraid... Pikachu..." Ash voiced quivered, showing his fear and bravery. He and Pikachu stepped forward, ready to do battle with the great Kuja.  
  
"Hahahahaha!!! You really think you can beat me now?! Your pathetic mouse only won last time because it caught me off guard," Kuja just laughed. "Don't waste your life, boy. Now just give yourself up..."  
  
"NEVER! Pikachu! THUNDERSHOCK!!!!" Ash commanded.  
  
Pikachu let loose his usual flurry of electricity, but Kuja simply cast reflect on him and James. The electricity bounced back into Ash. "WAAAHHH!!" Ash clutched his chest in pain. Pikachu, seeing that he hit the wrong target grew furious and launched a powerful Thunderbolt (Thundaga) on Kuja, but it too, bounced back. Luckily, it didn't hit either target.  
  
"Pikachu! They have on a barrier! Don't use thunder!" Ash yelled.  
  
"You see, Giovanni?" Kuja showcased his voice. "Reflect bounces off magic. With the right equipment, it even grows stronger! LUA hahahahaha!"  
  
"Pika..." it hissed. It charged itself with electricity, and rushed toward the two attackers. It snapped its tail, catching both by surprise and delivering a powerful blow. Kuja, however, countered with a slam to the earth, sending Pikachu rocketing to the air. He then snapped a Demi on Ash, causing him to scream in pain.  
  
Giovanni looked in interest. This man, despite his odd dressing style and mysterious demeanor, has already proven himself to be an unstoppable force. Capable of the black magic that his minions are 100 times stronger, he should prove a great asset to Team Rocket. And to make things even better, he asks so little in return. So far, all he asked for was the queen of the kingdom his troops were taking hostage and a couple of his enemies dead. That also included some of HIS OWN enemies! He quickly radioed his troops to send the queen to his base and now, with his new ally, nothing was going to stop him, or his new partner, for that matter, from ruling the world.  
  
He watched as Kuja continued to show off his magic, belting every trick up his sleeve on the hated boy and his Pikachu.  
  
Kuja ripped a Firaga on the two, but this time Ash dodged the move. Quite shocked, Kuja decided to cast slow to humiliate him more, but then the tides turned.  
  
"I had enough of this..." Ash, beaten, tired, and weary gathered the last of his strength. "You have picked on the innocents for far too long..." Ash focused in on himself. Suddenly, a pulse of power shot through him. He glowed white, and a burst of energy consumed him. He even sprouted two pairs of small wings.   
  
Kuja looked on in shock and amusement. "Oh, so he figured out how to Trance..."  
  
"What is Trance?" James and Giovanni asked almost at the same time.  
  
"So glad you asked..." Kuja began to explain. "Trance is a dormant power in everyone. I can Trance. You can Trance. Heck, even small monsters like that yellow mouse can Trance. It is fueled by a surge of emotion, but triggered differently from person to person. When someone does achieve this, they gain extreme amounts of power, allowing them to use powerful magic they couldn't use before. Now, watch this little boy..."  
  
Ash voice this time seemed to ring out from the room. "This is not where you people belong. You have destroyed innocent lives for the last time," his wings spread out. "Now, I cast Judgement Bolt! Leave this place alone, DEMONS!" Ash emitted a blast of powerful thunder, blasting away the other members of Team Rocket, even James. The power shot right through Kuja and even nearly struck Giovanni.  
  
"Ay, S***!!" Kuja staggered backwards. "It can't be reflected, and it's STRONG!"  
  
"We'll be destroyed if we stick around any longer! We've got to get out of here!" Giovanni yelled.  
  
"My point exactly..." Kuja whistled, and a few seconds later, a silver dragon crashed through the ceiling. Swiftly dodging the bolts of thunder coming from Ash, it landed next to Kuja. "This is our ticket out of here!"  
  
"Nice dragon..." Giovanni muttered as he hopped on. Kuja jumped on as well. The dragon, with one giant flap of its wings flew off, dodging more currents of thunder flowing from the holy Ash. It sailed off into the west, the noon sun showing no mercy.  
  
Seeing that the threats to the lab are gone, Ash calmed down, and fell out of Trance, back to normal. Pikachu ran into his arms. "Pikachu..." he said. "We did it. We beat him once more..."  
  
"PIKA!" Pikachu nuzzled Ash in happiness before leaping out of his arms. He then dashed to a back room.  
  
Ash followed, and coming to the back, he saw Professor Oak dusting himself off. "Professor Oak!" Ash cried.  
  
"Ash! Thank goodness!" the professor cried. "Thanks for clearing out my lab! I have a LOT of research to do, especially about Trance!"  
  
"Yeah... are you okay?"  
  
"I'm fine!"  
  
"Too bad you can't say the same thing about your mother!" a voice with a New Jersey accent crowed. "Ha! Team Rocket always gets the last laugh!" Meowth landed down from the ceiling and leapt out of a window.  
  
"You little s***!!" Ash jumps out right behind him and tails him, Pikachu following closely.  
  
"HA, ha haHA HA!" Meowth seemed to enjoy himself, leading the two right to in front of the Ketchum family house. There, Meowth had two nameless Team Rocket members... and Ash's mom, tied down to a chair. She seemed to be quite bruised and tear struck.  
  
"You leave my mom alone!" Ash thundered.  
  
"Oh, yeah? MAKE ME!!!" Meowth pulled out a small bell. "All righty! BIG MOMMA! Show loser boy how much you've grown!"  
  
"I've never heard of Big Momma," Ash said, scratching his head.  
  
"Well uh... SHOW THIS WIMP HOW STRONG YOU ARE!!" Meowth tinkled a bell, and a giant ice spike jutted from the ground. The ice then broke, revealing a giant ice serpent! It had a red jewel below its mouth and oddly had what looked like wings on the side.   
  
"IIITTZZAAARRRR!!!" the monster roared in a throaty voice.  
"Izzar! Give 'em a Blizzard Wind (PKMN Blizzard)!"  
  
"IITTZZAAAARRR!!!" the monster blew a powerful gust of icy wind on Pikachu, blowing it quite a distance.   
  
"PIIKAAA..." Pikachu shook off the ice and ripped a Thundara attack. Meowth and Izzar were heavily shocked.  
  
"Pikachu! Don't give them a break!" Ash cried. "Make them eat Thunderbolt/Thundaga!"  
  
The bolt took a moment to charge up before smashing into Izzar and Meowth. Izzar countered with another Blizzard Wind, this time hitting Ash and Pikachu.  
  
"Urgh! Eat nail gun!" Meowth aimed a claw, and in a violent rush, several nails erupted from his paw. Pikachu, however, shielded himself and Ash with a burst of electricity.  
  
"Izzar! Kill them all!" Meowth commanded. "LUA HAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!"  
  
Izzar lunged at his targets, and Pikachu readied a counterattack. But before the mouse could do anything, something leaped out from behind them and cut the monster in half with a HUGE sword.  
  
"Whoa, what the heck?" Ash stared in amazement as there was a giant metal creature standing in front of them. The creature was built human-like but about double the size in stature. It held a giant sword in its right hand, and small spikes on its shoulders.  
  
"Die fiends..." came the slightly robotic voice of the monster. With a single slice it sent the two rockets that charged at it packing. Meowth, utterly horrified, decided it was running time!  
  
"Augh, crap!" Meowth kicked himself, sending him skyward. "Team Rocket's blasting off again!" He disappeared into the sky with a *ding*.  
  
Ash rushed past the monster and to his mom. "Mom!" he cried. "Are you okay?!" he hacked away at her bonds and set her free.  
  
"I'm okay now..." she hugger her son tightly. "But what or who's that?" she pointed to the metal man.  
  
"Greetings," it bowed. "I am Meta, an Iron Man from Memoria. I'm trying to find my way home, and it so happens that I had a grudge against those soldiers."  
  
"Wow!" Ash looked at this "Meta" with pure interest. "I'm sure Team Rocket's despicable scum, but what did they do to you?"  
  
"Not 4 months ago, a person by the name of Kuja entered Memoria, the place of memory, holding the past of the planet and life itself in its realm. He came to destroy the life crystal, which is the pure origin of life for this planet."  
  
"KUJA??!!" Ash exclaimed. "Same guy waltzing about trying to kill people?!"  
  
"That would be him! I don't know why he wanted to do so, but then a troupe of brave heroes came in and defeated him. That effect sealed off Memoria, since the planet was no longer in danger... Unfortunately that effect also chased out the guardians of that place... Namely, my whole race."  
  
"Wow... but what does that have to do with Team Rocket?" Ash asked.  
  
"I'm getting there... This group of humans known to you as Team Rocket came and enslaved my entire race, capturing them with balls similar to those on your belt..."  
  
"Ouch!" Ash flinched. "So that's why you hate them... I understand. But good or evil, they mistook you for what's called a 'Pokémon'. Pokémon are creatures that train to do battle with one another. Team Rocket's a smelly organization dedicated to using Pokémon for evil. But both good and evil trainers keep their Pokémon in balls like this. Get my drift?"  
  
"I think..."   
  
"Yeah, so just because I have these things doesn't make me a bad guy! I hate TR just as much as you do! Speaking of that, we've got to get back to Alexandria!"  
  
"Hmm? Why?"  
  
"They're taking it over, and they must be stopped!"  
  
"COUNT ME IN!" Both Ash and Meta begin to run off, but a voice stopped them.  
  
"Ash! Wait!" his mom called. Ash stopped in his tracks and came back. "Oh, I'd hate for you to leave me again!" she gave him a tight hug. "But I realize that you have to save the world... Good luck!"  
  
"Mom! Take this..." Ash handed his mom a pokéball. "Allow his fire to protect you..." he returned the hug. He then hopped of the balcony. "Bye! And visit Professor Oak!"  
  
"Bye..." Ms. Ketchum waved to her son, tears of happiness in her eyes as she watched him run off to save the world with his Pikachu and his new metal friend.  
****  
  
"This look bad..." Quina looked around at the advancing army. Rob and Beatrix were growing weaker, and they couldn't hold the army much longer. Being cornered on the stairs was NOT a lively fate.  
  
"WHAT GAVE YOU THAT IDEA??!!!" Taz repeatedly smacked Quina upside the head. "It's your fault we couldn't rescue the d*** queen, and then you keep stating the obvious! You screw up everything!"  
  
"Leave him alone, fatso!" Vivi Jr. smacked Taz in the knee with her staff. "S/he can't help him/herself!" she patted the miserable Quina on the head. "I'm sorry..."  
  
"That okay!" Quina chirped. "He fatter than me, no care at all!"  
  
"WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME??!!!" Taz raged.  
  
"Hey! This way!" Came a voice from the window. A young girl, looking about Taz's age, lowered a rope down to our heroes.  
  
"Hmm? This is an escape route! Let's go!" Vivi Jr. cried.   
  
"Beatrix! Rob! We're outta here!" Taz called.  
  
"What? Home free?" Rob asked, repelling a magic shot from a Rocket member.  
  
"Let's move!" Beatrix took one final swipe at the soldiers with her sword before she turned tail and ran, climbing the rope after the rest of the heroes.  
  
Beatrix landed down on the ground, looking at everyone. The crew was transfixed on looking at the land they were on. They seemed to be overlooking steep gorge, though it was a much livelier sight due to the lack of Mist. She was also faintly aware of an "OW!!! D*****!" but she didn't pay much attention to it. What got her attention was that the girl that rescued them was a member of Team Rocket! Her suit, however, was gray instead of black. And her eyes glowered a faint blue... If this wasn't a trap, then why was she helping them?  
  
Rob voiced out her thoughts. "Hey, if you work for Team Rocket, why are you helping us?"  
  
"Simple," said the girl. "I'm a double agent. A little young, but I can take the pressure."  
  
"Who do you REALLY work for?" Taz asked.  
  
"Ah, so you really want to know, hmm?" she said, seductively tickling Taz's chin. "I'm afraid I can't tell you-yet."  
  
Taz looked lovestruck, being mesmerized by the stranger.  
  
"HEY! Stop seducin' us!" Rob snapped.   
  
"But honestly, I can tell you that I'm a good guy. I personally don't approve of this... and I'm worried about the queen..."  
  
"What happened... to my wife..." our heroes turned to see Zidane emerge, heavily bruised, his tail bleeding. He and Steiner were both staggering and barely able to hold each other up. However, Zidane stopped and gave the girl a steely glare. "Who are you? Tell me where they took my wife... NOW..."  
  
"Kidnapped by those Team Rocket b******s, no less..." the girl said. "It's too bad I have to work for them. However, I pay true allegiance to another group, determined to bring them down...  
  
"Most likely they took her to the big base. You'll have to head north from here for a whooping 25 miles... I must leave, now." She gave them all a bow. "Know that I'm on your side. I'll see to it that the queen's safe..." she turned tail and ran, leaving our heroes behind. Beatrix turned to Zidane.  
  
"How'd you end up down here?" Beatrix asked Zidane.  
  
"Heh, I tried to save Dagger from those Team Rocket brats, but I failed... Next thing I know, I land right on top of Rusty here in a haystack, makin' my tail bleed... Lucky save, eh? They think we're both dead..."   
  
"Very clever! We get moving now!" Quina demanded.  
  
"S/he's right, who knows what they'll do to Queen Garnet?" Rob said.   
  
"Let's go!" Vivi jr. cried. "I wanna shove a flare attack up their butts..."  
  
"We're... ready..." Steiner wheezed.   
  
"You two need some rest first!" Beatrix snapped. "Come. We can cover more ground and let these two recover if we take a Chocobo drawn carriage." They took to the stables and hitched a ride on one of the Chocobo carriages. Beatrix took to the helms and rode off.  
  
"TO RESCUE THE QUEEN!!!!" they all cheered.   
  
That's it for episode 5! Next Up: Episode 6: A Flair of Opportunity  
  
So our heroes set off to rescue Dagger. What do the bad guys want with Dagger? What the heck is Meta after, anyway? And who's that girl that always helps them out, much less who is that girl under Trance who keeps trying to beat the bloody crap out of them? All this and a bag of chips await you in the next episode of Final Pokémon Fantasy!  
  



End file.
